The art of napkin, also called a serviette, folding might not be something you see every day, but you might be surprised at the amount of shapes a simple piece of cloth or paper can assume. Napkins can be turned into fun shapes, beautiful designs, or even folded into pouches that hold cutlery. Learning to fold serviettes just takes some time, patience, and practice, but the payoff is well worth it! Elegantly folded serviettes add flair to your dinner table, impress your guests, and make your place settings unforgettable. Try starting with more basic folds like the open envelope or the single pocket, and work your way to more difficult folds, such as the bishop’s hat. No matter what fold you plan to attempt, however, it will be easiest if you work with clean, dry serviettes that have been freshly starched and pressed.

Steps

Part 1

Cleaning and Starching Your Serviettes

1

Recognize different serviette sizes. Serviettes come in a variety of sizes for different meals and functions. Aside from a few specific napkin types, serviettes are almost always perfect squares. Cocktail napkins are generally too small to fold, but most other napkins will be large enough for most fancy serviette folds.

Launder cloth serviettes. Wash your serviettes in the washing machine or by hand with a mild detergent. When they are clean, wring out your serviettes, but don’t worry about drying them.

Do not use fabric softener on serviettes you’re going to starch.

Don’t worry about laundering and starching your serviettes if you are using disposable paper napkins.

3

Starch the serviettes. Dissolve two tablespoons of laundry starch in some cold water. Pour two pints (946 ml) of freshly boiled water into a clean sink, laundry tub, or large bowl. Add an additional two pints of cold water and mix in the dissolved starch. Stir to combine.[3]

Soak each serviette in the starchy water, making sure to saturate each one. Wring out the serviettes to remove as much excess water as possible.

Hang the serviettes to dry, but remove them from the line when they are still a little damp.

4

Press the serviettes dry. Open your ironing board and preheat your iron. Use the proper setting based on your serviette fabric. When the serviettes are still slightly damp, press each one individually to remove all creases and wrinkles. Store flat until you are ready to fold them.

Part 2

Making Basic Serviette Folds

1

Try the open envelope fold. On a large, flat surface, lay out a square serviette. Position it so it’s in a diamond orientation with the bottom corner facing you. Fold the left corner to the middle. Fold the right corner to the middle so the two corner points are touching.[4]

Finally, fold up the bottom corner so that it covers the two corners in the center like an open envelope.

Place cutlery inside the open envelope.

2

Make a pyramid. Lay your serviette flat. Fold it in half on the diagonal and orient it so the fold is the closest edge to you and the point is away from you. Fold up the right half diagonally so the bottom right corner meets the top point of the triangle. Repeat on the left side. Your serviette should now be a square again (oriented like a diamond) with a seam down the middle.[5]

Turn the napkin over, keeping the open corners at the top. Fold the napkin in half to bring the top point to the bottom point.

Turn the napkin over again with it oriented the same way, with the tip of the triangle facing you.

Use the center pleat to fold the napkin in half and stand it up.

3

Create a single pocket. Fold a napkin in half twice to create a smaller square. Position the napkin with the open corner at the top left-hand side. Fold the top layer back to the bottom right-hand corner in a diagonal fashion. Flip the entire serviette over so the open corner is in the top right. Then:[6]

Use your eye and divide the serviette into thirds. Fold the right third of the serviette back, then fold the left third over top of that.

Tuck the bottom right corner of the napkin into the diagonal fold.

Flip the napkin over and insert the cutlery into the diagonal pouch.

4

Create a rose in a glass. You need two napkins for this one: one in green and the other in any color you choose (say, red, for instance). The green serviette will create the leaves, while the red one will create the flower itself.[7]

Fold the green serviette in half diagonally. Fold it in half diagonally again. Set it aside.

Fold the red serviette in half diagonally. Position it so the point is facing you, and the fold is the farthest side from you. Fold the pointed end over so it extends about an inch beyond the fold. Fold the bottom edge over as well, but only fold it so it comes within an inch of the fold. Start at one end and roll the napkin up into a cylinder.

Take the green napkin and position it so the point is facing you. Open the second fold of the green serviette to place the rose in the middle, making sure the top of the rose extends above the folded edge of the green napkin. Refold the green serviette back over the rose. Place the two serviettes together in a glass and drape the green serviette over the sides of the glass.

5

Make a fork scarf. Fold a napkin in half to create a rectangle, and then fold it in half again into a smaller rectangle. Fold the serviette in half lengthwise, and lay it on a flat surface with the folded side on the left. Place a fork in the center of the serviette, perpendicular to the napkin. Bring the open end of the serviette over the fork and pull it through the loop created by the fold, tying the fork in the bow.[8]

6

Do the diamond fold. Fold the serviette in half twice to create a smaller square. Position it so the open corners are in the bottom right-hand side. Take the first layer from the bottom right and fold it back diagonally to match up with the top left corner.[9]

Peel the next layer from the bottom right and fold it diagonally as well, but leave a one-inch gap between the corner and the top left corner, so the layers will be staggered.

Repeat this process with the third layer, leaving a one-inch gap between it and the previous layer.

Finally, fold the last layer over as well, leaving the one-inch gap.

Carefully turn the serviette over and fold the bottom two corners in toward the center to make the serviette into a diamond shape. Fold it over again and lay it down.

Part 3

Creating Advanced Folds

1

Make a fan. Fold the napkin in half into a rectangle and lay it down so it faces you widthwise (with one of the shorter edges nearest you). Fold up the bottom inch of fabric. Then, fold that one-inch fold back underneath itself. Continue folding the serviette back and forth on itself in an accordion style. Leave three to four inches unfolded when you get to the top.[10]

Turn the napkin over and fold it in half lengthwise. Take the two open corners from the unfolded napkin and fold them diagonally to the accordion folds. Tuck the corners into the pocket between the two layers of accordion folds.

Pick up the napkin by holding the open ends of the folds together and place the other end on the table. Spread open the accordion folds to create the fan.

2

Try the diamond envelope. Fold the serviette in half twice to create a smaller square. Position it in a diamond orientation with the open corners at the tip of the diamond (and the folds nearest you). Fold the top layer down in half, bringing the top tip down to match the bottom tip.[11]

Fold the next two layers down in a staggered fashion like you did with the diamond fold. Leave the last layer unfolded.

Fold the sides of the diamond in to the center. Flip the serviette over. Place utensils in the pouch.

3

Make a fleur-de-lis in a goblet. Fold the serviette in half diagonally and point the open tip toward you. Fold the tip over so it overhangs the original fold by an inch (like with the rose). In a lengthwise fashion, accordion fold then entire serviette.[12]

Hold on to all the layers at the base of the accordion and place the base of the serviette in a glass. Fan out the top of the folds so they extend over the sides of the glass.

4

Do the cone. Follow the first few steps of the pyramid: fold the serviette in half diagonally with the tip facing away from you. Fold the left and right sides in to the center to create a square shape with a seam down the middle. Flip the napkin over with the bottom tip facing you (and the open tips facing away).[13]

Fold up the bottom third of the napkin. Flip the napkin over again. Fold the left side diagonally to the center and a little beyond. Fold the right side in a similar fashion, slightly overlapping the left side in the middle.

Turn the serviette back over.

5

Create the bishop’s hat. Follow the same first steps as the cone to create a square shape with a seam down the middle. With the open tips pointing up and away from you, fold up the bottom three-quarters of the napkin.[14]

On the flap you just folded up, now fold the top tip back down over itself so the tip meets the center of the bottom fold.

At the very tip of the serviette, fold down the top third of the right and left flaps and tuck them behind the first flap.

Turn the napkin over. Fold the left third of the napkin, followed by the right third. Tuck the tip of the right flap inside the pouch of the left flap to secure it in place, and turn the napkin over.

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